Breaking News ForumDecember jobs report seen showing greater hiring at News Forum - AP - The government is expected to report Friday that businesses stepped up hiring in December, a trend likely to ...

President Donald Trump is signing a memorandum that freezes hiring for some federal government workers as a way to reduce payrolls and rein in the size of the federal workforce. Trump's directive is fulfilling one of his campaign promises. He tells reporters that members of the military will be exempted from the hiring freeze. The new president has vowed to take on the federal bureaucracy, and the action could be the first step in an attempt to curtail government employment.

President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, signs his first executive order

The memorandum signed by Trump's is similar to one that President George W. Bush signed at the start of his administration in 2001. In other moves on Monday, the president:

• Is reinstating a ban on providing federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option.

• Is signing a memorandum to leave the proposed Pacific Rim trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.